Bible: 2 Kings 7:3-20

7:3Now fourmenwith a skin disease1were sitting at the entranceof the city gate. They saidtooneanother, “Whyare wejust sittingherewaitingto die?27:4Ifwe gointo the city, we’ll dieof starvation,3and ifwestayherewe’ll die! So come on, let’sdefect4tothe Syriancamp! Ifthey spareus,5 we’ll live; ifthey kill us – well, we were going to die anyway.”67:5So they startedtoward7the Syriancampat dusk. Whenthey reachedthe edgeof the Syriancamp, therewas noonethere.7:6The Lordhad caused the Syriancampto hearthe soundof chariotsand horsesand a largearmy. Then they saidto oneanother, “Look, the kingof Israelhas paidthekingsof the Hittitesand Egypttoattackus!”7:7So they gotup and fledat dusk, leavingbehind their tents, horses, and donkeys. They leftthe campasit was and ranfor their lives.7:8When the men with a skin diseasereachedthe edgeof the camp, they enteredatentand had a meal.8They also tooksome silver, gold, and clothesand wentand hidit all.9 Then they went backand enteredanothertent. They lootedit10 and wentand hidwhat they had taken.7:9Then they saidtooneanother, “It’s notrightwhat we’redoing! Thisis a dayto celebrate, but wehaven’ttold anyone.11 If we waituntildawn,12we’ll bepunished.13 So come on, let’sgoand informthe royalpalace.”7:10So they wentand calledout tothe gatekeepers14of the city. They toldthem, “We enteredthe Syriancampand therewas noonethere. We didn’t even hear a man’svoice.15Butthe horsesand donkeysare still tied up, and the tentsremain up.”167:11The gatekeepersrelayedthe news to the royalpalace.17

7:12The kinggotup in the nightand saidtohis advisers,18 “I will tellyou what the Syrianshavedoneto us. They knowweare starving, so they leftthe campand hidin the field, thinking, ‘Whenthey come outof the city, we will capturethem aliveand enterthe city.’”7:13Oneof his advisersreplied, “Picksome menand have them takefiveof the horsesthatare leftin the city. (Evenif they arekilled, their fatewill beno differentthanthatof allthe Israelite people – we’re all going to die!)19 Let’s send them out so we can know for sure what’s going on.”207:14So they pickedtwohorsemenand the kingsentthem outto trackthe Syrianarmy.21He orderedthem, “Goand find outwhat’s going on.”227:15Sothey trackedthem23 as faras the Jordan. The roadwas filledwith clothesand equipmentthatthe Syrianshad discardedin their haste.24The scouts25went backand toldthe king.7:16Then the peoplewent outand lootedthe Syriancamp. A seah26of finely milled floursold for a shekel, and two seahsof barleyfor a shekel, just as the Lordhad saidthey would.27

7:17Now the kinghad placedthe officerwhowas his right-handman28 at the city gate. When the peoplerushed out, they trampledhim to deathin the gate.29Thisfulfilled theprophet’swordwhichhe had spokenwhen the kingtried to arresthim.307:18The prophettoldthe king, “Two seahsof barleywill sell for a shekel, and a seahof finely milled flourfor a shekel; this will happenabout this timetomorrowin the gateof Samaria.”7:19Butthe officerrepliedto the prophet, “Look, even if the Lordmadeit rain by opening holesin the sky, couldthishappen so soon?”31 Elisha32 said, “Look, you will seeit happen with your own eyes, but you will noteatany of thefood!”337:20This is exactlywhat happenedto him. The peopletrampledhim to deathin the city gate.